Mark has a new Christmas Single coming out December 9th called "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." Pre-save the single track at this link tree:
Mark O'Connor
"Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"
Out December 9th. Pre-save it to your favorite streaming service here:
Mark O'Connor's An Appalachian Christmas
“Mark O’Connor’s An Appalachian Christmas”
Mark O’Connor’s An Appalachian Christmas album (2011) reached the #1 ranking on Billboard’s Bluegrass Album charts. Hailed by critics from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Los Angeles Times as a top 10 album of the holiday season, it has become a perennial classic Christmas recording.
“All Christmas music should be played so elegantly on violin" -- Boston Globe
"Heavenly" - Associated Press
“Elegant” – New York Times
O'Connor says, "Appalachia is the original melting pot of our country featuring more diverse styles of American music than just about anywhere. This theme makes for what is a trilogy of my "Appalachia" recordings now; Appalachia Waltz, Appalachian Journey and An Appalachian Christmas. My album features well known carols as well as several Appalachian-themed songs about a beloved hunting dog, passing a fiddle down through the generations, and offering a new version of Appalachia Waltz itself with classical guitarist Sharon Isbin, one of my most well-known pieces. A few of my favorite Christmas centerpieces for the album include Renee Fleming’s soprano embraced by a mountain orchestra and fiddle solo on Away In A Manger and Amazing Grace, the jazzy style of Jane Monheit with an all-acoustic string band on Winter Wonderland and The Christmas Song and terrific guest appearances by music legends James Taylor, Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Krauss.”
About An Appalachian Christmas Concert Tour: Grammy-winning composer and fiddler Mark O’Connor has created several arrangements of Christmas classics and fashions a wondrous mixture of both instrumental and vocal music in bluegrass and other American music genres. Concertgoers are treated to fresh takes on traditional songs with a few original compositions included. His renditions are playful and joyous, but can be strikingly earnest too.
Mark O’Connor’s touring ensemble includes his wife Maggie O’Connor on fiddle and vocals as well as a variety of guest musicians on each tour.
Having toured An Appalachian Christmas ten years, O’Connor and his ensemble have a dynamic energy on stage that bring their individual expertise to holiday themes and classics in the most delightful and musically satisfying way!
But the reason we were all there was Mark O'Connor, in all his lyrical perfection. There is no more aching line in contemporary American music than the melody in his Appalachia Waltz, and the joy of his mandolin duet with his son in Macedonia, a song Mark wrote years ago, was pure delight.
O'Connor is a composer and arranger of the highest order, creating intriguing harmonies and rhythms in recognizable folk music. He elevates a music with humble beginnings to impeccable elegance, creating a whole different category. While the instrumentation is traditional in country music, his deft treatment of the songs and choice of performers brings out unexpected elements.
He's more than a performer; he's a suitor to the music, to the instruments, a passionate devotee of traditional forms and tools, and his adoration is evident in every note he writes and every chord he plays.
Mark O'Connor has brought his Appalachian Christmas to Portland for the last six years, and I hope he comes again next year, so everyone can hear his remarkable music.
by Meg Currell
EDGE Media Network Contributor
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